Wizz Air announces 1,000 redundancies as it cuts 19% of workforce

I think these are actual facts: The only fair method of choosing who to let go is a random pick. LIFO as the sole criterion is illegal.

Last time I checked this was not the case. LIFO is not illegal. It can be if it is discriminatory. That may be the case but doesn't have to be. LIFO can also be adjusted by correction factors such as for attendance, performance, disciplinary records etc to make it court-proof. It also depends on the jurisdiction, of course. But the bottom line is that a LIFO-based policy can be legal.

Perhaps we are talking a different scope. Within a single base, within a single type, within a single working post (as spelled-out in the emplyment contract) it surely can be legal, especially as long as it is not listed as a reason inside the redundancy notice. The quoted text above speaks of a different arrangement.

In a typical CE jurisdiction /Wizz ops area/, a forced redundancy of an employee with full status is only possible if the company manages to tick all the relevant boxes of the Labour Law. No box for LIFO, let alone one that would over-rule the others. The employer needs to have truthful reasons, all of the necessary ones, to fire / furlough / lay-off any single individual.

Mileage may vary, last time our ALPA squad did check it was in a court house in the region, during forced layoffs to 50% of pilot and CC workforce. No matter the signed CLA.

Example from the minefield: In case you employed someone within 8 months for a job position from which a worker had been let go under the redundancy clause, that redundancy becomes illegal and full pay and position is re-instated. This pretty much invalidates any left-to-right movement while letting F/Os go. Trust me, people who were being kicked out with 120 PIC hours over their FO ex-brethren 6 years junior to them left no stone unturned.

I do remain highly optimistic of the future of Wizz air. Even with the market shrinking for a while, there will still be useful opportunities left over from weaker carriers who could no longer support themselves. And if you have cash and aircraft orders at that time - that's the chance to take your game to a new level. What is crisis and devastation for one is always an opportunity for someone else.